A Simple but Elegant Balsamic Vinegar Based Vinaigrette
January 4th, 2009
The use of Balsamic vinegar in salad dressings has become very fashionable over recent years.
The rich velvety sweet but tart flavour that balsamic vinegar adds to a vinaigrette or salad dressings is very special. Balsamic vinegar is generally used sparingly so use the best you can.
If you need good quality aged balsamic vinegar at reasonable cost or want to look at some of the very best, try OliveNation. They have a good range, are reliable and recommended!
The recipe is for an elegant but simple to make Balsamic vinegar and olive oil based vinaigrette that will compliment any green or mixed salad as a dressing for that special occasion.
It takes 15 to 20 minutes to make and will serve up to about ten people. You can scale the recipe up or down and it will keep for several weeks in fridge though its better served fresh as described below!
If you can, use the lighter coloured olive oil for salads as opposed to the darker coloured more viscous types that are used for frying.
The ingredients that you will need for this salad dressing are:
2 cups extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of fresh Garlic, crushed
¼ cup aged balsamic vinegar
½ cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup chopped fresh thyme leaves
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
¼ cup fresh chives, finely chopped
¼ cup fresh tarragon, chopped
¼ cup fresh oregano, chopped
To prepare the salad dressing
1. Put the olive oil, Balsamic and white wine vinegars in a wide topped bowl and mix well
2. Peel and the crush garlic cloves and spoon it into mixture.
3. Add the remaining ingredients
4. Blend or whisk the mixture. Use a food processor if you have one to hand.
5. Put the salad dressing into a refrigerator leave it to sit infuse for at least 6 hours.
Serve it as a vinaigrette dressing over any green or tomato salad.
It goes well with a seasoned sliced tomato and onion salad!
You will be impressed!
